The Other Side of Lost in Translation

2009年8月24日月曜日

Are Japanese perverts? #2

Now the new stereo type about Japanese is "Kinky."Probably those "Hentai" videos(adult anime) have conributed to that,something like a girl is raped by an incredible monster.However, I also remember seeing lots of bootleg copies of Japanese S&M porn films at New York porn shops in '80s.

During '60s and '70s, Japanese major film studios lost their audiences to TV and Hollywood films so much that they were threaten to be bankrupt.One of them called Nikkatsu decided to make a drastic change to survive that they allowed their young directors to do anything as long as they put several sex scenes in their low badget films.At that time and still now, Japan has the strict law not to show any genitals on any media.therefore those Nikkatsu films were soft core porns,or even less than today's standard of soft core.However, young directors tried so hard to be creative about how to provocative sexually and artistically.Those films were called "Nikkatsu Roman Poruno(Romantic Porn)"and one of their specialties was S&M.

At that time, I was a kid in a rural area of Japan,but still I saw lots of posters of them with bare boobs of women on my way to school every daywhich could never happen in the U.S., I guess. And those films were so controversial that TV asked their actress to be on the talk shows very often.However, until recently I had never seen them.

I bought a DVD box set called "Masaru Konuma: Debauched Desires" a while ago,and it contains four films of one of the most famous Nikkatsu Roman Poruno directors, Masaru Konuma.And one of the film "Wife to be sacrificed" caught my attention.It is a very very disturbing film, very S&M, lots of humiliations and even some suggesting elements ofchild sex abuse without showing actual scenes.Yet this is a beautifully photographed film and made me think about this kind of human sexual behaviors.

In Japan, generally speaking, the awareness of any kinds of social or political issues are very low,including feminism.Therefore nobody protests about the films contains lots of scenesof abusing, tormenting, torturing and raping womenshown in the neighborhood theatres,which is unthinkable in the U.S.However, I do not think that means the rate of raping womenis much higher in Japan.Probably the reality is the oppositethough I cannot say I am sure because rape victimes tend not to report about incidents especially in Japanto avoid further humiliations.

2009年8月10日月曜日

Are Japanese perverts #1

"Ame Nochi P Shimasho (Let's do P after the rain!)"by Ike Ike Girls

NO, you do not read like Ike of Ike and Tina Turner.It is more like Ekay Ekay Girls."Ike Ike" was the popular term in the early '90s,which means literary "Go Go"and could be a noun or an adjective describinggirls who loved to play around with dresses of revealing body lines.

"Ame Nochi P Shimasho"

I am so wet because of rainBut I cannot sleep because of youYou are the kind of guy who does not move quicklyIn your arm, I have to sigh againGirl's mind depends on weatherThat kind of kiss just does not do meLet's do P after the rainLet's do it passionatelyIf it turns out to be a fine weatherPlease love me more like sending to paradiceLet's do P after the rainLet's do it until we lose controlHold me like a burning flame

Because I love him more than beforeI wanna feel it like crazy more than beforeAfter I get a very nice tanThough it might be painfulI want you to hold me tighterThe uncertain rainy cloud started to moveI just can't wait, I am about to explodeLet's do P after the rainIt's about a time to do itWith my burning skin, I am swayed to paradiceLet's do P after the rainLet's do more & moreHold me till I melt away

Let's do P after the rainLet's do it PPPPPPPPIf it turns out to be a fine weatherLove me more like sending me to paradiceLet's do P after the rain Let's do it till we lose controlHold me like a burning flame

This P means of course, SEX,and tha rain is the metaphor of, hmmmm, not sure. But It is totally a sex song.They are pretty girls but what a hell are they wearing?Those bottoms looks like diapers, don't they?And at that time, so many girls like them on TV.

"Stand UP" by T-Backs

T-Back is a thong.Japanese call a thong "T-back"because it look like T when you look at someone wearing it from behind.And this clip is from the show on morning hour.Can you immagine to see something like this on "Good Morning Ameica"?

Jikan Desuyo (1970-1973)

It is an interesting fact thateven when I was a young kid in early '70s, we could see woman's bare boobs on a prime time TV show in Japan.That show was called "Jikan desyo(It's time)" andit was about a family who ran a Sento(Japanese style public bath house)and almost everytime, they showed boobs in a female undressing room.My mother complained about that but she did not change the channel because she knew everybody enjoying the show.Something like this simply cannot happen in U.S. even in this day.But in Japan, showing genitals in any media is still strictly, well probably not so much, prohibited by law.

I still remember my teacher said not to watch Sally Field's "Flying Nun" because it was on the air after 10:00PM in the area I livedSo I did not watch it as a model kid.But still I could watch this bare boob showand teachers did not say anything about it.

And one other thing I remember is thatevery summer there was a TV special thatmany young stars gathered and did swimming competitions.And the during the show, every time without a fail,some girl's bikini top fell down accidentally, well that's what they said, bare boobs were exposed and always they were caught by a TV camera clearly.Those were prime time shows with many celebrities who were adored by kids.

2009年8月3日月曜日

How Japanese see Koreans #2

In early '70s, there was a sudden outbreak of..,well, outbreak of the popularity of Chinese singers in JapanLand.First, a very sexy & soulful Tiwanese singer called Ou Yang Fei Fei,then, a cute young idol singer from Hong Kong called Agnes Chan.As both of them became very popular,subsequently Japanese record companies and agencies sent lots of scoutmen to Taiwan and Hong Kong to hail new cuties and beauties.

It was not only singers, in '70s there was a young Chinese-Japanese actress called Bunjak Hung was also popular.

Then, in '79, this song by Judy Ongg became a phenomenal hit.She was born in Taiwan, moved to Japan when she was two,and already a child star during '60s.

In mid '80 Teresa Teng became a super star, not only in Japan but also all over Asia,though she originally came to Japan in '73 from Taiwan, and had a few hits during '70.Then she was deported in '79 as she used a fake passportand could not get in Japan till '84.But after that, just hit after hit after hit.

Japanese considered these Chienes entertainers as exotic beauties.And the interesting thing was that no Korean entertainer could acomplish a success like theseas a Korean till a recent time.Since late '70s a few Korean Enka(traditional style Japanese popular ballds) singers had achieved some sucess in Japan.However, still at that time, I could hardly imagine the day would come that Japanse young kids idolize young Korean pop stars like they do now.

Though even in '70s, there were some successful Korean-Japanese entertainters.But they had to use Japanese names and hide their identitieslike Jewish entertainters do in U.S.Interestingly enough Japanese had prejudices toward both Chinese and Koreans,then how come only Chinese were accepted but Koreans were not?Well, Chinese were Novelties for Japanese as not many of them lived in Japan.On the other hand, Korean-Japanese could be threats for Japaneseas a significant number of them were living in Japan.The same logic can work in U.S. as well."One Black family in a White neighborhood is a noveltybut two of them are the begining of a Ghetto."

Yes, in a way, Chinese entertainers were accepted as they are.However, think about it, they were all females because womens were/are less threatening for the majority.

Here is a very popular Korean-Japanese singer, Akiko Wada.She has been singing since early '70sand considered a Japanese Soul singerthough she did not reveal her identity till a recent time.

自己紹介

I love animals, especially cats and Shiba inus. I love flowers too. Not having much reason to live, this depressive solitary nerd is too lazy to die. I think I would become a ghost and keep looking for my cats after my death.